We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Megan Barnard a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Megan , appreciate you joining us today. Let’s talk legacy – what sort of legacy do you hope to build?

Legacy is such a hard topic because you cannot control what people say about you after you are gone, but I hope to be remembered for keeping work fun. I am lucky enough to be able to work in a creative industry, working with clothes. That is such a fun job to have. Because of that, I think people sometimes forget the joy attached to what I do. I want my legacy to be that I foster a creative, fun, and welcoming environment. If I can make an impact, then I can succeed.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I’m currently a rising senior at the Savannah College of Art and Design, Majoring in fashion Marketing and Management, and this summer I’m working as a Product Development Intern. I began college believing I was meant to be a fashion designer. During my classes, I quickly learned that was not where I was meant to be. I wanted to be working with people, and so that is what I did. I changed my major and also became involved in a lot of student film work to grow my skills as a stylist or costume designer. From that, I was able to feel confident on photoshoots and film sets, having gaining titles from Costume Production Assistant, to Costumer, to Stylist, To costume Designer, to even producer. This wide range of experience has shown me so many possible career paths and I’m so proud of the work I have completed and the connections I have made.

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

The biggest resource I was too proud to use were other people’s minds. Of course I wish I became more familiar with programs like Canva, Indesign, Photoshop, or Procreate before I was thrown into a project, but that is when the minds of other people really came in handy. When working on a project and I was lucky enough to have another creative mind near me, I would ask for their opinion. it was a beautiful thing to be able to have people around to chime in. I used to be either too insecure or maybe it was too proud to share with others, but the moment I did it was when I was able to find improvement in my work style, my final work, and even my communication style.

Have you ever had to pivot?

I spend most of my life determined to go to art school for fashion design. I believed that was my calling, and I would have rather died then done something else. Well, after my first college class for my major, I knew that was not what I was meant for. It crushed me. I took the summer to reflect on what I did like, and tried to find a way to put that into my education, and try as many different industries and majors as I could. It was that attempt that put me as a Costume PA on a film set. It was there I found confidence and joy in what I was working with, and I loved being able to be the creative to get everything done. I switched my major to be able to succeed and find joy where I naturally found it, instead of forcing myself into it.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://mbarna21.wixsite.com/meganbarnard21
• Instagram: @megBarnardMakes
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meganbarnard2121